Rookie Move (Brooklyn Bruisers #1) by Sarina Bowen

The first novel in a sexy new series featuring the hockey players of the Brooklyn Bruisers and the women who win their hearts—from the USA Today bestselling author of the Ivy Years series.

In high school they were the perfect couple—until the day Georgia left Leo in the cold…

Hockey player Leo Trevi has spent the last six years trying to do two things: get over the girl who broke his heart, and succeed in the NHL. But on the first day he’s called up to the newly franchised Brooklyn Bruisers, Leo gets checked on both sides, first by the team’s coach—who has a long simmering grudge, and then by the Bruisers’ sexy, icy publicist—his former girlfriend Georgia Worthington.

Saying goodbye to Leo was one of the hardest things Georgia ever had to do—and saying hello again isn’t much easier. Georgia is determined to keep their relationship strictly professional, but when a press conference microphone catches Leo declaring his feelings for her, things get really personal, really fast….

My Review:

The first half of Rookie Move was really good. I was sweeping through the pages, devouring every word, and staying up way too late at night. As a sports fan, I really appreciated reading about hockey players. I’m not overly familiar with hockey but, let me tell you, I need to start watching it!

At the beginning of Rookie Move, I did have a slight problem with how cliché this book was. There’s already quite a few hockey new adult books out there, and this one read pretty similar to some of the other ones. While the storyline was completely different, it just felt like something that I’ve already read before. There wasn’t really anything that unique going on in this book.

The last 50% of this book was just a little boring and repetitive. I hate to say that. You know, I really love this author and I read everything she writes. I just kind of felt like the same things kept happening over and over and over again. Leo would worry about getting traded. Georgia would whine about her dad potentially finding out about his adult daughter dating her ex boyfriend. Georgia would fight her attraction for Leo and tell him that they couldn’t work out again. Leo would have something going on with his teammates. The same things just kept happening over and over and over again. Really, some of the scenes were so close to being identical. I ended up doing a lot of skimming during the last half of the book.

I have to point out that Rookie Move does have some trigger warnings in regards to rape. Nothing graphic is mentioned or described. However, the main female character is a victim of rape and is still in the recovery process of that trauma. I appreciated the fact that the author approached that difficult subject with sensitivity and caution. At no point did I feel unsafe or uncomfortable. However, it is a topic that is mentioned throughout the entire book.

One thing that I would have really liked to see more improvement on were the sexy scenes. They were just kind of bland and didn’t really interest me all that much. I would have liked to see some more wildness between Leo and Gigi. Self control going out the window and wild monkey you-know-what. I’m pretty big on my sexy scenes in NA and adult contemporary books, so I was a bit disappointed that those scenes didn’t reach their full potential.

Another thing that slightly bothered me was how dramatic this book was. I don’t tend to like a lot of drama in my books. The drama seemed to keep on coming with this one. It almost felt like watching a daytime soap at times. I would have appreciated if the drama had been toned down just a bit…

Let me be completely honest that other readers will probably like this book more than I did. Yes, I had my complaints. However, what it really came down to is that I’m not interested in guys like Leo. There was no attraction to him whatsoever. I would categorize Leo as more of a “good boy.” He was very attentive to Georgia’s needs (not a bad thing!), he cared a lot about his team, and he was a great boyfriend. All good things! All things that I love! However, he was just so bland. He didn’t have that spark in him. I tend to prefer slightly more bad boys in my books….boys who are spontaneous and unpredictable. Those two words just don’t describe Leo.

Overall, this wasn’t my favorite book, but I can see why other readers will really enjoy it. I’m not going to rate this one. Honestly, I just don’t find it very fair to rate it since I really skimmed 50% of it. If you really enjoy lower key NA books with a really good boy type, this one is for you. If you’re like me and tend to prefer more intense sexy moments and bad boy leads, this one maybe is not quite right for you. It’s just a matter of preference.